What Jackbox Games does

Jackbox Games is a Chicago-based, privately held game studio best known for its annual Jackbox Party Pack franchise, a series of multi-platform party games built around a proprietary phone-as-controller system delivered via jackbox.tv. Founded in 2011 as Jackbox Games, Inc. (headquartered at 811 W Evergreen Ave., Suite 301, Chicago, IL 60642) with CEO Mike Bilder, Founder/Chairman Harry Gottlieb, and CTO Evan Jacover, the company began shipping its first Party Pack in 2014 and has since released twelve annual collections totaling 50+ original titles, including Party Packs 1–11 (with Party Pack 12 announced for Fall 2026), standalone titles such as Drawful 2, Quiplash 3, Fibbage 4, Trivia Murder Party 2/3, Dodo Re Mi, and Tee K.O. 2, plus the age-restricted Naughty Pack and the entry-level Party Starter.

The core technical differentiator is a web-based audience platform in which one host owns the game while all other players join via mobile browser using room codes — no app download or additional purchase required — supporting up to 10,000 audience members in a single session. Games are distributed simultaneously across Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, Apple TV & iPad, Amazon Fire TV, Epic Games Store, Humble Bundle, and Netflix TV games, with monetization centered on a $29.99 MSRP per Party Pack (with seasonal discounts up to 65%), $3.99–$19.99 standalone pricing, and bundled collections such as the $149.99 Decade Bundle. In 2024, Jackbox expanded into third-party publishing via Jackbox Games Publishing, with Melbourne-based Toot Games' 'My Arms Are Longer Now' as its first externally published title.

The customer base spans casual party gamers (primary), streamers and content creators, corporate/team-building users, K-12 educational users, and Netflix subscribers, with the underlying value proposition being accessible, low-friction social entertainment that scales from in-person gatherings to remote play and mass-audience streaming. Key distribution relationships include Netflix (Jackbox Party Essentials, April 2026), Xsolla (co-hosting GamesBeat Engage Chicago 2026), and Toot Games (publishing partner); Amazon Luna exited as a channel in 2026.

Name

Jackbox Games

Legal name

Jackbox Games, Inc.

Website

https://jackboxgames.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Jackbox Games is a Chicago-based, privately held studio that develops multi-platform party games using a proprietary phone-as-controller system (jackbox.tv), shipping annual 5-game Party Packs and standalone titles across 10+ platforms including Netflix, Steam, and all major consoles, with a growing indie publishing arm.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Party Video Games

NAICS

Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (339930), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944), Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Game Publishers (1st/2nd/3rd-Party Publishing) (MPAFABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Subscription, Bundling & Membership Distribution (Game Pass-like, Humble-like) (MPAFABAI)

Keywords

• Party video games
• Multiplayer party games
• Mobile-controlled games
• Indie game publishing
• Social party games

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Game Pack Sales: One-time purchase model for party game packs (The Jackbox Party Pack series) and standalone titles. Each pack contains 5 games. Pricing varies by platform with standard MSRP of $29.99 for current packs. Individual standalone titles available at $3.99-$19.99.
2. Indie Game Publishing: Jackbox Games Publishing generates revenue by publishing third-party indie titles. First published title is 'My Arms Are Longer Now' by Toot Games. Publishers provide funding, production support, marketing, QA, and release management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels11 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Jackbox Games develops and publishes multiplayer party video games sold as annual Party Pack bundles (each containing five original games) and standalone titles across Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Epic Games Store, Humble Bundle, and Netflix TV games. Its flagship technical differentiator is a phone-as-controller platform where any player joins a room via jackbox.tv on a mobile browser without downloading an app or buying the game, with audience play-along support for up to 10,000 participants. The company has also launched Jackbox Games Publishing to release indie titles developed by external studios, with Toot Games' My Arms Are Longer Now as its first published title.

Product overview

Jackbox Games is a Chicago-based party game studio best known for its annual Jackbox Party Pack series, each containing 5 original party games. The core product is the Jackbox Party Pack franchise (currently through Party Pack 11, with Party Pack 12 announced), supplemented by standalone titles (Drawful 2, Quiplash 3, Fibbage 4, Trivia Murder Party 2, Dodo Re Mi, Tee K.O. 2, The Jackbox Survey Scramble), the Naughty Pack (age-restricted content), and the Party Starter (a 3-game introductory pack). The company also publishes external developers' games through Jackbox Games Publishing, with its first title being 'My Arms Are Longer Now' by Toot Games. Games are distributed across a wide range of platforms including Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Epic Games Store, and Humble Bundle. A key platform feature is that players use their smartphones as controllers via jackbox.tv — no app download or additional purchase is needed for non-hosting players. Recent expansions include Netflix TV games integration and new online matchmaking in Trivia Murder Party 3.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Jackbox Games Publishing: The publishing division of Jackbox Games that helps other developers bring games to market, offering funding, production support, marketing, and platform guidance.

Products and services

• The Jackbox Party Pack The original annual party-game collection containing 5 original party games, including You Don't Know Jack 2015, Fibbage XL, Drawful, Lie Swatter, and Word Spud. Players use smartphones as controllers via jackbox.tv and supports up to 8 players plus an audience of up to 10,000.
• The Jackbox Party Pack 2 Second annual party game collection featuring 5 original games: Earwax, Fibbage 2, Bidiots, Quiplash XL, and Bomb Corp.
• The Jackbox Party Pack 3 Third annual party game collection featuring 5 original games: Trivia Murder Party, Quiplash 2, Guesspionage, Tee K.O., and Fakin' It.
• The Jackbox Party Pack 4 Fourth annual party game collection featuring 5 original games: Fibbage 3, Survive the Internet, Monster Seeking Monster, Bracketeering, and Civic Doodle.
• The Jackbox Party Pack 5 Fifth annual party game collection featuring 5 original games: You Don't Know Jack: Full Stream, Split the Room, Mad Verse City, Patently Stupid, and Zeeple Dome.
• The Jackbox Party Pack 6 Sixth annual party game collection featuring 5 original games: Trivia Murder Party 2, Dictionarium, Push the Button, Joke Boat, and Role Models.
• The Jackbox Party Pack 7 Seventh annual party game collection featuring 5 original games: Quiplash 3, The Devils and the Details, Champ'd Up, Talking Points, and Blather 'Round.
• The Jackbox Party Pack 8 Eighth annual party game collection featuring 5 original games: Drawful Animate, Job Job, The Poll Mine, Weapons Drawn, and The Wheel of Enormous Proportions.
• The Jackbox Party Pack 9 Ninth annual party game collection featuring 5 original games: Fibbage 4, Junktopia, Quixort, Roomerang, and Nonsensory.
• The Jackbox Party Pack 10 Tenth annual party game collection featuring 5 original games: FixyText, Tee K.O. 2, Dodo Re Mi, Timejinx, and Hypnotorious, including the first Jackbox rhythm/music game.
• The Jackbox Party Pack 11 Eleventh annual party game collection featuring 5 original games: Hear Say, Doominate, Cookie Haus, Suspectives, and Legends of Trivia.
• The Jackbox Party Starter A curated 3-game introductory pack featuring Trivia Murder Party 2, Tee K.O., and Quiplash 3, designed as an entry-level option for new players or smaller gatherings, priced at $19.99 MSRP.
• The Jackbox Naughty Pack An age-restricted party pack containing 3 games with mature content: Dirty Drawful, Let Me Finish, and Fakin' It All Night Long, priced at $19.99 MSRP and requiring age verification.
• Drawful 2 Standalone drawing and guessing game where players create prompts and drawings, with support for custom episodes, moderation tools, text filtering, and closed captioning; features twice the prompts of the original Drawful.
• Quiplash 3 Third installment in the fill-in-the-blank party game series, featuring the new Thriplash final round requiring three responses per prompt, along with moderation and content filtering features.
• Trivia Murder Party 2 Second installment of the trivia-obsessed serial-killer game show series, set in a Murder Hotel with new trivia questions and Killing Floor minigames.
• Fibbage 4 Fourth installment of the bluffing party game series featuring a new Final Fibbage round, Cookie Masterson's VHS Vault video questions, Fibbage Fan Fact segments, the Enough About You mode, and updated moderation tools for streamers.
• Dodo Re Mi Jackbox's first rhythm and music game, featuring musical birds playing songs for a carnivorous plant, with over 200 beatmaps, over 100 instruments, and support for 1-9 players using devices as instruments.
• Tee K.O. 2 Second installment of the fashion battle drawing game featuring new drawing tools, clothing options (shirt, hoodie, tank top), a button-mashing final round, and audience voting for up to 10,000.
• The Jackbox Survey Scramble A survey-based party game that uses real survey answers from players around the globe to generate constantly changing questions, featuring six different game modes and released on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation, Amazon Fire TV, and Epic Games Store.
• Jackbox Games Publishing Jackbox Games' external publishing initiative for indie developers, offering funding, production and release support, marketing, platform guidance, QA, localization, porting, and long-term lifecycle management; seeks games with distinct creative voices and comedic sensibility.
• The Jackbox Decade Bundle Bundle containing all 50 titles from Party Pack 1 through Party Pack 10, offering the complete Jackbox games library at $149.99 (25% off).
• The Jackbox Big Bang Bundle Bundle containing all 5 titles from Party Pack 11 plus The Jackbox Survey Scramble at $27.99 (20% off).

Quantifiable outcome

• No app download required for players - only need a web browser
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• XsollaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 16 June 2026Xsolla, a global video game commerce company headquartered in Los Angeles, co-hosted GamesBeat Engage Chicago 2026 with Jackbox Games. Event themed 'Riding the Wave of User-Generated Content' featured debates on UGC creators. Included fireside conversation on Chicago's gaming industry featuring Mike Bilder, CEO of Jackbox Games.
• Amazon LunaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 10 April 2026Amazon Luna cloud gaming service previously offered Jackbox Games subscriptions. As of April 2026, Amazon announced discontinuation of third-party game purchases, removing previously purchased games on June 10th, 2026, and canceling Jackbox Games subscriptions without offering refunds for third-party games.
• NetflixcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 9 April 2026Netflix added three Jackbox games (Drawful 2, Fibbage 4, and Quiplash 3) to its TV games lineup as the 'Jackbox Party Essentials' pack. Available at no additional cost to Netflix subscribers who can use their phones as controllers. Represents continuation of Netflix's strategy to grow non-traditional entertainment content and increase subscriber engagement through interactive gaming.
• Toot GamescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2026Melbourne-based Toot Games partnered with Jackbox Games Publishing for 'My Arms Are Longer Now', a 2D stealth-comedy game. This is Jackbox's first externally published title. Jackbox provides marketing support, production assistance, QA, and release management. Partnership exemplifies Jackbox's 'ethical publishing' vision where creators earn from day one and maintain financial runway after launch.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Exploding Kittens: Independent party/card/digital-game studio whose core market (party games purchased once for group play) and lightweight, joke-driven, adult-leaning positioning map almost 1:1 to Jackbox's party-packs. Both ship IP-driven bundles of short-form casual games to the same buyer cohort.
• InnerSloth: Creator of Among Us, the most prominent indie social/party game of the last decade. Directly comparable: small studio, voice-of-the-consumer social gaming, huge Twitch/streaming cultural footprint, distribution-led rather than AAA-marketing-led.

Emerging players

• Devolver Digital: Indie game publisher that distributes third-party titles across Steam, consoles, and storefronts. Closely comparable to Jackbox Games Publishing's model of funding and shipping external indie titles, but at meaningfully larger scale and catalog.
• Annapurna Interactive: Premium indie publisher sourcing distinctive creator-led games. Overlaps with Jackbox Games Publishing on third-party indie publishing, marketing support, and platform release management, though tilted to narrative/artistic IP rather than party play.
• Stonemaier Games: Indie tabletop publisher (Wingspan, Scythe) that has moved strategically into digital adaptations via partnerships. Comparable on premium indie games, party-adjacent audience, and multi-platform rollout strategy, though physical-rooted.
• Panic (Playdate / Untitled Goose Game publisher): Independent publisher/developer (Playdate, Firewatch, Untitled Goose Game) known for distinctive, polished indie titles. Overlaps on the indie-developer-whos-also-a-publisher model Jackbox is now building with Jackbox Games Publishing.

Broad incumbents

• Hasbro Gaming: Broad incumbent in party/social gaming (Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, digital party apps). Comparable in that it owns the mass-market 'game night' mindshare Jackbox targets, though physical rather than digital and family-only rather than adult/streaming-leaning.
• Nintendo: Console platform owner and occasional party-game publisher (Mario Party, WarioWare). Comparable as both a host of Jackbox Party Packs on Switch and a producer of first-party party titles that compete for the same game-night wallet.
• Ubisoft: Large publisher with party/casual titles (e.g., Rabbids) and a multi-platform distribution footprint. Comparable as a broader incumbent releasing casual multiplayer games on the same storefronts where Jackbox competes for evening-with-friends mindshare.
• Riot Games: Multi-game publisher (League of Legends, Valorant, Teamfight Tactics) deeply tied to the Twitch/streaming ecosystem. Comparable audience playbook: Jackbox's audience-mode (10,000 players) targets the same streamer-led social-gaming community Riot has monetized at vastly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jackboxgames
• YouTubeyoutube.com/jackboxgames
• Facebookfacebook.com/JackboxGames
• Instagraminstagram.com/playjackboxgames
• TikToktiktok.com/@playjackboxgames
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3178590

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jackbox Games